Contact gallery for price		Henri Lebasque French, 1865-1937 La Lecture dans le Jardin Oil on canvas 18 x 21 1/2 inches (46 x 55 cm) Signed lower right: Lebasque and dated to 1910 Literature: To be included in the forthcoming Catalogue Raisonne de l’Oeuvre Peint d’Henri Lebasque in preparation by Denise Bazetoux Provenance: Hilde Gerst Gallery, New York, USA Private collection, USA Henri Lebasque was born on September 25, 1865 in Champigné.  He began his training as an artist at the École des Beaux-Arts in Angers.  By 1885, he continued his studies in Paris at the famous atelier of Bonnat.  In 1890 he took part in the Salon des Indépendants and met Maximilien Luce and Paul Signac, with whom he maintained a close friendship. Though Lebasque experimented with Neo-Impressionism early in his career, by 1906, his work underwent a transformation in the way in which he applied color to his canvases and interpreted light.  His visit to the South of France and the effect that the southern light had on him, very much influenced his more naturalistic technique. Over the next few years he worked in Normandy, Brittany, and Vendée, and also in Saint Tropez, Saint Maxime, Nice, and Cannet, painting the objects and people around him.  Notable works from this period include portraits of his wife and children, interiors and gardens, riverbanks as well as views of the Provence, and of the Côte d'Azur, orchards and olive groves. Lebasque retired to the coast at the end of his life. During this last period he painted female nudes, the figures filled with light and tenderness. Lebasque died in Le Cannet of a heart attack in August 1937. Our painting dates to the first decade of the new century during which time Lebasque utilized a naturalistic technique with a great concern for light and color.  The woman in the red dress reading draws the attention of the viewer yet she remains self absorbed and unaware of any other presence.  She is surrounded by lush garden, the green of her dress echoing the greens that surround her.  In the distance, the calm blue of the water extends into the distance.  Despite the loose open brushwork that is incredibly lively, our painting is a scene of quiet tranquility and beauty, the woman surrounded by a peaceful stillness in her garden.